Another Customer Service Horror Story

I know that it has been a very long time since my last entry. You can chalk it up to either procrastination or a busy schedule, probably a combination of the two but more likely the former. Anyway, my professor recently called my post about my experience at Arby's "priceless,"(http://researchmethodsprowrite.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_researchmethodsprowrite_archive.html) and I thought it may be a good idea to relate another experience to the masses.

About two weeks after my terrible experience at Arby's, I was at another restaurant here in Fort Wayne called Yokohama. A lot of people may tell you that Asakusa is the better place to get sushi, but they are sadly mistaken. In my opinion, Yokohama is by far the best place to get sushi in Fort Wayne, at least until recently. If you bear with me, I will eventually get to a far worse experience then that of the legendary Arby's experience.

The week before the aforementioned Yokohama visit (with the horrible experience), I there because my friend and I had a mean desire for some good sushi. We arrived at 2:00, only to find that the restaurant had just closed. However, we were relieved to see that people were still entering the restaurant without immediately exiting. We assumed that this meant the restaurant must still be open.

We walked in and were immediately welcomed with open arms and smiles as is usual at Yokohama (an experience you will not have at Asakusa.) We asked if they were still open and the hostess told us that they were, in fact, still open. We then explained that we did not want to impose and if they were closing down we would be more than happy to visit on another date. The hostess told us that leaving was unnecessary, and invited us to sit down to which we gladly agreed.

We ordered our drinks and assumed everything would go as usual. After a moment or two, the waitress returned to inform us that the sushi bar was closed but we could still order from the menu, because the kitchen was still open. This perturbed my buddy, because we had come for sushi. We are pretty easy-going guys and although we were really craving sushi, we ordered from the kitchen. The waitress went to the kitchen only to return with more bad news. She told us that the kitchen was closed. We were upset, but said it was no big deal. We left feeling dejected that we did not get any sushi and ended up settling for a mediocre, at best, meal at Roly Poly. Some may think that I would be pretty upset by the fact that I was really pumped for sushi and did not get any; on the contrary, I took it pretty well, because I knew that I could always get some in the future. Plus, it was not the waitress's fault that the kitchen was closed. There may have been some miscommunication between the cook, manager, and/or waitress. I used to be a waiter, and I know how things can get.

I was of this opinion, until I visited Yokohama a week later. The craving that I had for sushi lasted through the week. So on Friday, I decided to revisit Yokohama. This time I decided that it would be a good idea to get there when I could be absolutely sure that the kitchen and, more importantly, sushi bar would be open. I arrived at Yokohama at approximately 12 p.m. I was aware that this was lunch hour, and as a result the restaurant would be busy. That was a chance I was willing to take. I don't think words can explain how much I wanted sushi.

I waited about ten minutes to get seated. During my wait a group of three women came into the restaurant. They assumed that because I was by myself I was waiting on take-out. When the hostess came out to seat the next group she asked, "Who's next?" The three women immediately rushed in front of me to claim that they were next to be seated; but before they had, I already had my hand raised, not like you would raise your hand in grade school to answer a question but more like you would make a slight gesture with your hand to make a bid at an auction. The hostess recognized this gesture and politely suggested I follow, "right this way." At this point, I was mildly annoyed at the arrogance that some people can have, meaning the three ladies who had assumed that I was getting take-out just because I was dining alone. I should note that the only reason that I knew they made this assumption was because as I was leaving the waiting area headed for my table, one of them verbalized this sentiment and the others agreed. Alone, this situation would do nothing more than slightly put me off, but given the following events you will see how it served as a catalyst for ultimately walking out of my favorite restaurant without paying. Furthermore, the previous episode that happened the week before served as gasoline used to put out the blazing fire that was my anger, but I am getting ahead of myself.

At this point in my story I have no fault with Yokohama. In fact their customer service has always been exemplary. This is the case with most authentic Japanese restaurants that have not yet been Americanized with rude service as a result of apathy toward the customer's experience. Yokohama was always my favorite Japanese restaurant in town because the experience always felt the most authentic. The owner even went as far as to bow while thanking you for coming when the meal was finished. This type of service is not unique to Yokohama because there are several Japanese restaurants I have been in throughout the country where the experience of superb customer service is the norm. But it must be said that type of service cannot be experienced anywhere else in Fort Wayne. That is why when I relate to you (my audience) the terrible experience that I did have, it came to me as such a shock that I took it personally.

Upon sitting down, the hostess served me iced water and asked me if I would like anything else to drink. I ordered green tea. I usually do this at Oriental restaurants because I have always made the assumption that this is what is customary and I did not want to look weird ordering something else. This habit started at a very early age. Since then, I have noticed that Asian Americans do drink other stuff besides tea and have realized the follies that can be made with generalizations, but I must say that this has resulted in a liking for green tea. Now when I go to an oriental restaurant and others see me drinking green tea I feel as if they think I am just trying to appear more interesting than I really am.

The hostess said she would be back with my green tea and a waitress would be to my table as soon as possible. Ten minutes passed. During which time I had finished my water, decided what I would have for lunch, noticed that the three rude women whom I had a run-in with at the beginning of my visit were placed at the table next to mine, and observed that the restaurant was severely understaffed. There was not an open table in the restaurant. From what I could tell, there was one waitress, a sushi chef, a hostess and a cook all with the task of serving roughly 100 people. I realized that I would be in it for the long hull if I wished to receive the sushi that I had been craving for a week straight. I can enjoy a meal by myself because I get a kick out of eavesdropping on other's conversations. The pleasant women that made acquaintance with at the front of the restaurant had a particularly interesting conversation about how many men they were currently seeing behind their husbands' backs. It's amazing how some people in a restaurant assume they are the only ones there and cannot be heard much like the individual who cannot be seen digging for nose gold because they are in the privacy of their car with clear windows.

After about ten minutes, the waitress came, apologized for my wait, and took my order. I said that the wait was not a problem, made my order along with soup and salad, told her I would have tea to drink because it had not yet come from my original order, and told her I was in no rush. From my experience as a server, I know that nice customers get preferential treatment. So, I always try to remain overly polite. She seemed happy that I was a customer with whom it would be easy to get along.

After this, she took the order of the three trustworthy ladies at the table next to mine all of whom said they did not wish to have the soup and salad that came with the meal. When the waitress left, the three women immediately began to gossip about her.

About another ten minutes went by (30 minutes since entering the door). At this point, I have yet to receive my tea (I asked for it 10 and 20 minutes ago.) I'm in relatively good spirits. The anticipation of sushi has made the wait worth it. I have kept telling my self that this is only going to make the food more enjoyable. Recently after noticing that 30 minutes have passed, I noticed that the waitress was coming my way with the soup and salad. I could not have been more ecstatic. The waitress made a fake toward my table followed by a spin that Olympic iceskaters would envy toward the table with the three women. She served all three the soup and salad which they had originally declined and asked them if they needed anything else. They complained that they had been there for an hour (30 minutes by my watch) without receiving their drinks; the waitress apologized and ran back to the kitchen for the drinks ignoring me. The three women proclaimed that they did not like the soup nor did like the dressing on the salad, but they decided that they would eat it anyway because they were hungry. I love the soup and the salad. My stomach ached.

Another 15 minutes passed (45 minutes for those keeping track.) The waitress finally came back with the women's drinks. I have yet to receive my tea. The women have taken about three bites each of the salad and/or soup, at which point they decided they had their fill. This salad and soup would be thrown away. The women ask the waitress when their food will come because they have already been there for an hour and a half (45 minutes by my watch). At this, the waitress apologizes and turns to bolt into the kitchen.

In a move of desperation I say,"Um, excuse me ma'am?"

She turns and gives her brief attention. I quickly say, "Could I get my tea, when you have a chance?"

Another 15 minutes go by (a full hour.) My tea comes. I explain to the waitress that I still have not received my soup and salad

A popular restaurant in Chicago, Illinois has spun this apathy of server's and has made a profitable and perhaps famous restaurant with a poor service theme (http://www.centerstage.net/restaurants/ed-debevics.htm). I love Ed DeBevic's and have been going there whenever I get the chance since I was five years old. I can remember the first time I went there a server yelled at me and told me I could not partake in the "World's Smallest Sundae" because I had not finished my three chili dogs. I started to cry, because I did not realize at the age of five that it was her job to be rude. Upon seeing me cry, she gave me a free sundae and shirt that said "Eat at Ed's." This settled my crying right away. When going to a place like Ed DeBevic's one can expect poor customer service, because that is the environment that they market. However when someone goes to an authentic Japanese restaurant like Yokohama, they expect the service to be more polite as is inherent within the Japanese culture.